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“But it’s all worth it, because when you follow your heart, your whole life changes.”

Keeping with it is the problem. Overcoming the doubts, breaking through. I’ve followed my heart and found periods of deep satisfaction only to get lost. You’ve got to stay on the path. I hope that I’m doing that now.

Yes. And to me, the doubts, fears and worries have been there nudging me to go deeper.

When you build a business around your passion, it also helps you grow as a human being, because there comes a point where you have to transcend the doubts and see that just because a thought says you’re not good enough does not make it true.

Henri, great post! Isn’t it amazing the amount of power that we can find once we stop diluting our energy, and instead, focus fully by taking massive action on one important task? Your results are clear proof of that fact.

Bruce Lee said it best: “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 different kicks, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

This reminds of a quote, “If you want it you must obtain it by great labor.” T.S. Eliot.

Fear and doubt will generally decrease when we execute a plan because our focus will be on the work not on our fears. Thinking generates fears. So if we stop thinking about what we can’t do instead start doing what we can do, then our thinking will be about the work that we have passion for.

Another thing that diluted my energy was trying to learn and do every part of one project at once: marketing, production, content, accounting, networking, online storefront, in-person sales, etc. I had to learn to focus on one aspect, get it down, then move on to the next. Thanks for the post, it helps me remember not to overwhelm myself!

Thanks Henri. Great post. As one of your students I celebrate your success. I too am living my dream in a home based business over the phone Coaching and Training for real estate agents. My daughter gave us our first grandchild last week and I was able to be there. I am so grateful for your guidance in following my passion and doing what I love. While working for only myself and my clients.

I couldn’t agree with you more Henri. Thank you for this post. it is in acceptance that lies the biggest power we can attain, the sum of all our efforts, the seeming coming to terms with the way we are and the way life around us is, but in actual fact transcending it all.

It sounds simple but it’s not easy. There are no mountain peaks that are hospitable to live on. Our continued engagement in sharing the climbing knowledge and repeated successful (and failed) attempts at claiming new victories in different projects is what makes life worthwhile.

The resultant joy is what one truly can call a life aligned with one’s purpose.

Great post, Henri! I really like your line: “The solution is not to try and get rid of the fears, but instead rise above them, transcend them.” Like this suggests, I often find that it’s more productive to focus on what I should do instead of what I should not. For example, I work on what I should eat more than what I shouldn’t. By doing what I should, it leaves less room for doing the things I should be avoiding. Plus, I just feel more motivated by doing than by avoiding.

I’m working at it. I know there are no quick fixes, but oh, sometimes things seem to move sooooo… slow that it can get frustrating. But the passion and fun kick in and keeps me going. I’m in it for the long haul.

I’ve been working on my own for a while now and spent a lot of early time and capital going in a million directions. I learned many difficult lessons that way and completely agree with your comment here.

“If there’s one thing I could tell the Henri just starting out, it would be to focus on one project, and keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

Your post raises a really important point – the approach to an online business should be no different to any other business. It is all about creating a business with strong foundations that will give sustainability and longevity and deliver results consistently.

What if you’ve lost your passion? It’s difficult to create or find a map to guide you when you no longer care about those things for which you were once passionate. After losing my home to foreclosure, all I care about now is having a home and a family to fill it. But you can’t really force that when you are still single, either. How does one discover or recognize the life they want outside of what they’re passionate about? Perhaps unfortunately – perhaps not – I’m in the opposite position: After years of holding fast, following dreams, going back to school, and chasing an industry that doesn’t seem to want me, I am now only concerned about making the most amount of money I possibly can doing whatever needs doing in order to prepare and provide for what it is I truly want. Perhaps on that journey I will discover a new passion. But in the meantime, the focus will be the good ol’ American dollar.

I’m feeling I’m going the same way. I have started a bit later than you and at first I was looking for shortcuts, because I wasn’t confident in what I had to do.

I was reading blog posts, buying course, ebooks, signing up to different newsletters in hope to find the magic secret that will help me create an online business. I fell a victim of instant formulas and shortcuts.

Today I’m following the mindset that you recommend and I hope that this will work out for me.

Thanks for your inspiration! I am glad that you were able to push through your fears to find a way to do what you love and get paid well for it. My biggest take away is to not look for quick fixes. I tend to what immediate gratification for whatever I am doing. This only leads to failure. thanks again

Karen I think it’s more about having a plan and a system. If you have specific, measurable long term goals, you know what you need to be doing day-by-day to accomplish success. And the whimsical effect of emotions matters less.

Success isn’t about willpower, or even motivation really. It’s about planning and sticking to a system that will, in the long term, bring success.

I just think of all the people who have made huge contributions and have been compensated hugely for those contributions and then think about the amount of all-consuming passion they poured into what they did. The hours and hours they spent on it long after everyone else turned out the lights and went to bed. The greats in any industry (entertainment, technology, medicine, literature, anything) have become great because they had the dream, worked their butts off, and kept at it (or came back to it) even when things got discouraging.

I totally get what your saying, It is so easy to just think or to be tricked into believing that these automated get rich schemes are going to make you easy money, I too have made the same mistake trying to juggle to many balls in one go or trying all the get rich quick programs that fail to deliver instead of just focusing on the one project your passionate about first.

This article is exceptional, but I would really encourage you to elaborate more.

What “get rich quick” types things did you do?

How did you realize that they wouldn’t work?

What did you do differently as a result?

Your experience is unique and insights are great. You really should write another article here (or on your blog?) sharing some more details. That will really help readers see how they can apply your advice in their life.

I wish, I could leave my job one day and become full fledged blogger. Most of us do jobs that don’t interest anymore. We are just doing it earn bread and butter for our family. I am just waiting for the day when I would be doing the work that I just love.

Richard- I think the problem is clear from what you write about. You see becoming a blogger as a binary decision between having a blog and having a job. You’re waiting for the day for something (or someone) else to bless you with the ability to do the work you would love.

Instead of waiting for someone else to give you this opportunity, why not make it for yourself? Define goals, and proactively look for ways to accomplish them given your situation.

I think you’ll realize eventually that the only thing holding you back is yourself. When I realized that about myself, I was able to make monumental changes in my life that have made me happier and more successful.

Loved your post and right now when i read your post i felt like i connect to your story. I have an idea of an online business, but I am not sure where to start. Can you please let me know any comprehensive guide/ a step-by step guide to set up a website with a great Idea???